Loan pair hoping to stay on Teesside

Middlesbrough loan stars Benito Carbone and Franck Queudrue have revealed that they are desperate to win full-time contracts at the Riverside Stadium after establishing themselves as Teesside crowd favourites.

Middlesbrough loan stars Benito Carbone and Franck Queudrue have revealed that they are desperate to win full-time contracts at the Riverside Stadium after establishing themselves as Teesside crowd favourites.

The duo, on loan from Bradford and Lens respectively, took the plaudits on Saturday, with Queudrue grabbing his second Boro goal and Carbone running the show against Glenn Hoddle's Tottenham in a 1-1 home draw. Boro boss Steve McClaren is hoping to land the pair for a total of £4m this summer. Both players are now hoping there will be no hitches in the negotiations.

"The goal was for my little girl Lilie," said Queudrue, who equalised Steffen Iversen's opener with a spectacular free-kick in the second half.

"She is six-weeks-old and is back in France now with my wife Ismerie.

"But I am hoping that they will get the chance to come back and live in England properly soon. I want to live in England, I want to play in England. I like this club and I want to stay here."

Middlesbrough are Carbone's fifth Premiership club. And the Italian, who has also played for Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Bradford and Derby, is hoping Teesside will be his final port of call in his tour of the UK.

He said: "What I like about Middlesbrough is that the manager allows me to be free. He trusts me and that is the best feeling in the world, I am really enjoying myself.

"I don't want to go to another club and I don't want to go all around England again.

"I want to play for Middlesbrough for the next four years, if I can't I will go home."

McClaren said: "Benito has become a crowd favourite very quickly and performances like that are putting the pressure on.

"Franck has also done very well. He's a tremendous character and has really improved since he first came here."

Boro have lost just two of their last 15 games and although he was disappointed not to have taken all three points on Saturday McClaren was upbeat at the end.

He said: "The fans have been tremendous. We have got young players out there and they like to see youngsters given a chance.

"After playing Manchester United the next game was always going to be tough, and I was worried about it and how much that had taken out of the players. But they showed guts and determination to come back from 1-0 down."